


Mix it up

by TuppingLiberty



Series: Organa's Organics [39]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Multi, See each chapter for specific tags and rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 18:10:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13507011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuppingLiberty/pseuds/TuppingLiberty
Summary: So, for the second anniversary of Organa's Organics, I decided to focus on the relationships at the farm that aren't necessarily romantic. To that end, I put 17 names on a list randomizer and hit it enough times for all the pairings to be possible given death and what not. Also, I completely forgot Rey and Jess, which is a shame, but it's too late now. Sorry :(This fic takes place all over the span of O's Os. In a few days, I'll also put these chapters in the O's Os longfic where they're placed.Make sure to check each chapter for tags and ratings and warnings.The pairings:Chapter 1: Snap and FinnChapter 2: Cassie and ElisaChapter 3: Poe and BenChapter 4: Mary and MeghanChapter 5: Amelia and AnneChapter 6: Chris and LeiaChapter 7: Misael and Eli and MalikChapter 8: Caleb and The Cousins





	1. Snap and Finn - rated T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated T for language
> 
> This takes place between A Special Visit and I Can't Believe You Talked Me Into This, in the first year.

Finn was deep into the raspberries when he heard Snap calling his name. He stood, stretching, and waved. “Over here. What’s up?”

“My to-do list is empty at the moment so I figured I’d come over and help.” Snap walked down his row and settled in beside Finn, started helping him pick raspberries.

They worked in companionable silence for a little while, making progress down the line. “Poe’s been keeping you to himself since you got back,” Snap said eventually.

Finn bit his lip, uneasy. His relationship with Snap was sometimes hard to navigate. “I don’t mean to take him away from you.”

“No, no. I was joking, mostly.”

Silence again.

“We should-”

“It’s just-”

Finn and Snap both laughed awkwardly as they spoke over each other. Finn nodded at Snap to go ahead before turning back to his side of the raspberries.

“It’s just that, um. We’ve been alone for a long time, you know? Confirmed bachelors.” Snap sounded vulnerable in a way he rarely did with Finn. “Just changing, is all. But I’m glad you stuck around. Glad you crazy kids are making it work.”

Finn huffed out a little laugh at that. “Yeah, well. The long distance thing can be a major pain in the ass. But he’s worth it, you know?”

Snap gave him a small smile. “Like I said, you’re both making it work.” He picked a few more berries, dropping them into the basket. “I’m proud of him.”

“Me, too,” Finn replied softly. “We should go out, get drinks sometime this week. I know Poe and I have been keeping to ourselves, but we can break out of our little nest for a night.” He offered a smile back.

“I’d like that.”

“Oh, but not Thursday night, that’s when we’re celebrating our anniversary. My first day on the farm.” Finn blushed, thinking of their first kiss. “We’re getting all dressed up and going out on the town. I never really - I didn’t do prom, or anything, back in New Mexico, but this feels kind of like that. Very, um, well, this sounds stupid, but very adult.” He looked down at his hands and smiled. “Turns out I’m proud of us for getting here, too.”

Snap eyed him speculatively. “Does it bother you? The age thing?”

“Why, does it bother Poe?” Finn asked automatically, his heart beating a little quicker in anxiety.

“No, I- No.”

“Oh. _Ohhhh.”_ _This isn’t about Poe and me._ _Got it._ Finn let them pick in silence for a little while, because Snap had turned away again. Eventually, though, he touched Snap’s arm softly. “Does Elisa know?”

“How did _you_ know?”

“Because I ship it,” Finn blurted out. “And also, I don’t know. You look at Elisa the way I imagine I look at Poe.”

Snap inspected his hands, then moved farther down the row. “I doubt she knows. Why would she even think that I’m interested? I could be her father-”

“Oh come on, you’re not _that_ old, Snap.” Pause. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Okay, so maybe not her father.”

“You would have been ten, that would be a pretty precocious father.”

Snap grumbled something under his breath as he accidentally crushed a berry in his fingers and red juice dripped everywhere.

“So, does the age thing bother me?” Finn sat back on his heels, contemplating Snap’s grumpy face. “No. It doesn’t. It bothered Poe at first. And like, I get that we were at fundamentally different places in our lives, had had fundamentally different experiences, and yeah, he’d had _more_ of those experiences. But we also have the same life goals, and the same timeline for them. So I just happened to want to do the whole committed-relationship-probably-going-to-marry-this-guy thing 10 years earlier in my life than Poe did. Does that mean Poe and I should wait around 10 years so I can catch up? By that logic, I’m never going to catch up, and then our lives will be over, and we wasted all that time.”

Snap was silent for several long moments, the only sounds the berries dropping into baskets and the bees buzzing.

“Just, um, something to think about.”

Finn turned back to his raspberries. After a minute, Snap’s shoulder nudged his. “Thanks, man.”


	2. Cassie and Elisa - rated E

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated E - there is smut in this chapter. 
> 
> This fic takes place over the time from Fallout to a little bit after Forgiveness, Can you Imagine?, so the whole Ben drama time.

“Hey, Lis, can you grab the other side of this?” 

“Sure thing.” 

Cassie grunted as they turned the huge, busted tractor wheel upright so they could roll it toward the dumpster. With a countdown and a heave, they tossed it in. Cassie wiped her brow with her dirty glove, mentally shrugging off her current level of grime. “Thank you for your help, truly. I know things are, um, tense right now.” 

Cassie felt responsible for the cold war currently going on at Organa’s. If she hadn’t sought Ben out - if she hadn’t mediated Leia and Ben’s reconnection - well. Things would be different. Now Poe was mad at Leia, even though he and Ben had managed to negotiate a detente, and everything seemed broken, and she couldn’t help thinking it was her fault. 

And one of the greater consequences had been that Cassie was kind of on her own, now. Ben wanted space. Leia was hurting, so Cassie felt bad asking… At least she _had been_ alone until Elisa had walked onto her land one day and offered to give Cassie her Fridays for the spring. Normally she had them off, and it made Cassie feel even guiltier, but Elisa had shown up faithfully the last month of Fridays, and Cassie loved working with her. 

“Listen, I don’t doubt that Poe and Ben have legitimate bad blood, and hell, I was there the night Ben pushed Finn, but…” Elisa lifted her shirt to wipe her own face off, then started to redo her pony tail to keep her hair out of her face. “But I know you, or I know your type.” 

“My type?” Cassie’s eyes widened, and she was unable to keep the offense from her voice. 

“You’re a peacemaker.” 

“I’m-” She shut her mouth, unsure now if that was offensive or not, considering she’d just been contemplating the same thing. 

“Yeah. A fixer. My dad was the same way, drove my mom crazy.” Elisa took a drink of water and winked at Cassie. “I’m more like her. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think peacemakers are probably right.  _ And, _ more importantly for our present situation, peacemakers tend to get the short end of the stick. Poe’s upset, and Leia’s upset, and Ben’s upset, and meanwhile, Cassie’s out here doing all this stuff by herself. Didn’t seem right. Thought you could use some backup.” 

Cassie stayed speechless, but accepted the water bottle with a small thank you when Elisa offered it. She took a sip, and eyed the confident set of Elisa’s shoulders in the sweaty tank top. Felt her cheeks heat from something other than the unexpectedly hot April afternoon. She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s appreciated, Lis, thank you. Think we can get the barn done today?”

“Absolutely. I’m ready to kick its ass.” She slung an arm around Cassie’s waist and started moving them toward the barn. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”

Cassie shrugged, reaching forward to swing open the barn door and sighing. “Same thing I do every night, Pinkie,” she said with a quirk of her lips. 

“Try to take over the world?”

“No, fall face first into my mattress for about five minutes before my alarm goes off again.” 

“Snap’s had a roast in the crockpot all day, and I know that sounds incredibly domestic for a single lady like you, but you should come over anyway. Let your hair down for a bit, come play with Luis.” 

Cassie smiled and bumped hips with Elisa. “That doesn’t sound terrible,” she teased as she started to pick up more farm equipment and separate the salvageable from the dead losses. 

 

A couple of hours later, and the barn was cleared. “Fuck,” Cassie groaned, collapsing onto a crate and wiping her face off. “I am  _ disgusting,”  _ she said with a grin. 

Elisa grinned back as she bumped down beside her. “I know, right? Nothing like the feeling of knowing you got shit done today.” She leaned back on her hands and tilted her head up to the sun. “And then washing it all off in the shower and feeling human again.” 

Cassie looked at the long column of Elisa’s throat and almost groaned again. There were streaks of dirt over her skin, sure. That didn’t make Cassie want to join Elisa in that shower any less. _Christ._ _Lusting after your married neighbor now, Cassandra? Mom would have a field day with that one._

Elisa stood, stretched, and held out her hands to pull Cassie up. “Come on, girl, go get cleaned up so you can come over and hang out.” With a grin, she pushed her - Cassie let herself be pushed - toward her small cottage.

“See you in a bit,” she called to Elisa’s retreating figure. 

 

Cassie wiped her hands on her clean jeans before knocking on the door. She’d felt silly, putting on the pretty blouse, had decided to offset it with some darkwash jeans that made it seem less formal, less like she was dressing up for dinner with her neighbors. Less like maybe she was trying to impress Elisa.  


Of course, it made sense that Cassie had maybe a tiny crush on Elisa. Elisa was safely untouchable, unlike Ben. Ben was far from safe for her heart, and besides, Ben had already rejected her. And that's what Cassie got for putting herself out there.

Snap answered the door with a broad smile and a giggling Luis resting on his hip. “Cass! So glad you could make it!” He swung Luis back to let Cassie in, and then threw him up into the air and caught him to Luis’ excited delight. 

“Hey pretty lady, come on in here,” Elisa called from the kitchen, and Cassie smiled at Snap and Luis before moving toward her voice. 

Elisa was pulling steaming biscuits out of the oven when she got there, and Cassie leaned against the counter, trying to be out of the way. 

“Whew.” Elisa swiped the steam off her forehead from the oven and grinned at Cassie before turning to the fridge. “Hey, can I get you something to drink?” She paused at the door and winced, turning back to Cassie. “So um, I’m going to tell you a secret and you can’t tell anyone, or it would jinx it, okay?”

“Um, okay?” Cassie replied with a frown. 

“Snap and I are trying to get pregnant again. So, uh. We don’t have any alcohol around, other than some of the scotch Snap keeps around for super special occasions. But no beer or anything, sorry,” she said with another wince. 

“Oh! Oh, my gosh. Um. That’s exciting! Um. That’s fine! Whatever you have is fine!” 

“Sorry, I just didn’t even think about it until right now, or I would have told you to BYOB. How about some lemonade?”

“Lemonade sounds great, and really, Lis, it’s okay.” She moved to the cupboard to grab glasses, then frowned when they were too high up. 

“Oh, let me, sorry.” Before Cassie could move, Elisa was reaching over her to get the glasses, crowded into her space. Smelling amazing.  _ Shut it down, Cassandra. Maybe it's time to break out the vibe and scratch this itch. _

“I would’ve managed,” she said defensively instead.

“Yeah, I know. Future reference? There’s a step stool by the fridge, because Snap is gargantuan and is always putting things up high.” Elisa poured the lemonade, handing one to Cassie and clinking their drinks together. “What should we toast to?”

“To a hard day’s work.” 

Elisa grinned slyly. “To strong women.” 

“Definitely,” Cassie agreed with a laugh. 

 

Dinner was - well, it was lovely, to be honest. Homey. Not perfect, but homey. At one point, Luis threw a tantrum because he didn’t want to have to eat another carrot and Snap had sung this song from some kid’s show about always trying food before deciding he didn’t like it, but the carrot had ended up on the floor anyway, to be snarfed down by the Wexleys’ dog Francis. Elisa had looked over at Cassie apologetically and whispered sarcastically, “Oh yeah, but he’s not tired  _ at all.” _

Luis made it another ten or so minutes of Snap and Elisa trying to convince him to eat more before totally breaking down. “Okay, mijo, time for stories,” Elisa sighed. 

Snap stood, gathering the crying Luis into his arms and leaning over to brush a kiss over Elisa’s forehead. “I’ve got it. You stay and hang out with Cassie.” He gave her a significant look, and Cassie was startled to see a blush tinge Elisa’s cheeks as she murmured something back in Spanish. 

“Sorry,” she apologized again. “He’s - well, I’d say he’s not normally like that but honestly dinner time has been a trial recently.” She rested a hand over her stomach, laughing softly to herself. “And I want two of these.”

“Hey, it’s nothing, Lis. Kids are kids. Terrible twos, right?” 

“Right.” Elisa rubbed her face. “Well, thank god for Snap, you know? I don’t know how single parents do it.” She looked up at Cassie, wiping her frown away. “But enough about that. What about you and Ben?”

“Me and Ben and  _ kids?” _ Cassie squeaked, then cleared her throat and took a gulp of lemonade. 

“No, no, just you and Ben. How is that, um, going?” 

“Oh, um.” She ran her finger around the rim of the glass, avoiding Elisa’s gaze. “It’s okay, I guess. I mean. I don’t know. He said he wanted space, but what does that mean for, I don’t know, whatever this is between us? I don’t even know if he sees a ‘whatever this is’ between us.  I don’t really know where we stand, and, like, I don’t know if he wants to pursue this or - it’s - it’s just kind of frustrating right now, you know? I hate when there aren't any rules.”

Elisa tsked, placing a comforting hand on her forearm. “I’m sorry, Cass,” she murmured sincerely. 

Cassie shrugged. “It is what it is, you know? I mean, it’s not like I’m looking for anything right now. I’m so busy with everything at the farm. If it’s not going to work out with Ben, I’m not going to be devastated at any missed opportunities? Not like I’m hunting down people on Tinder or anything.” Cassie was, after all this time, extremely good at playing the pronoun game. 

Elisa’s thumb was rubbing over the hair on her forearm, and when Cassie looked up, their eyes locked. “Cass-”

“Lis-” Cassie said at the same time. 

They would have laughed, maybe, if the feelings in the kitchen weren’t so-  _ there, _ so present. 

“Cass,” Elisa started again, “I have to confess something.” 

Cassie licked her suddenly dry lips. “Go ahead.”

“I didn’t ask about Ben because- because I’m a good friend. I asked because I wanted to know if you were still single.” Her fingers squeezed a little at Cassie’s arm, her eyes practically begging Cassie to connect the dots. 

_ Oh shit. _ “You’re- you’re _not_ sing- Snap-” Cassie choked out, drawing back a little, because Lord knew she never wanted to be a homewrecker. Elisa was supposed to be _safe!_  


Elisa moved back as well, giving her space. “Snap and I - well. I’m just a little bit, um. Totally poly. Polyamorous,” she said as an explanation. 

“Oh. Um.” 

“Snap and I are in an open relationship, kind of.” 

“Kind of?” Cassie felt like her head was reeling. 

“I don’t get, like,  _ final approval _ of Elisa’s outside relationships or anything,” Snap said, sitting down beside his wife and draping an arm around her shoulders. “But we discuss it quite a bit.” 

“You’re- you’re okay with- you’d be okay with-” God help her, she couldn’t stop sputtering. 

“Snap is my husband, my number one and always will be, and that will never change.” Elisa drew Snap’s hand up for a kiss. “But I also would like to go on a date with you, Cassie.” 

They were both speaking to her like she was a spooked horse, and the thing was, it was actually working. A date- a date with a married woman was  _ unconventional,  _ sure, but it was a  _ date, _ and two hours ago she’d been lamenting over the fact that she had a crush on an untouchable and probably straight woman. 

A woman who was now, apparently, neither of those things. 

“Wait, how did you know that I’m-” She paused, and changed to a whisper,  _ “Bi?” _

Elisa held her hand out, and Cassie took it automatically. “It’s okay, Cass, your secret is safe, if you want it to still be a secret.” 

She grimaced. “My mom-” 

“We understand completely,” Snap said, because of course they would. This was Organa’s. A safe place. 

“We didn’t know. Just a lot of speculation with Snap on my part, and a lot of hope, and maybe some Sunday Mass prayers in there, too,” Elisa said with a grin, and Cassie had to laugh. “I’d say ‘don’t tell my priest’ but, you know, this whole thing sort of falls under the realm of ‘what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.’” 

Cassie stared into Elisa’s sharp eyes for a moment. “Sorry, it’s going to take me a minute to catch up, probably.”

Now Elisa brought her hand up for a kiss. “You can take all the time you need, cariño.”  

“Absolutely no pressure,” Snap murmured. 

“Are you like - like her  _ wingman?” _

That made Snap laugh. “Yeah, kind of. I just like to see my Lis happy.” 

“I don’t know if I’m poly,” Cassie admitted softly. “How do you know? What if I-”  _ fall in love with you? _

“We go slowly. We negotiate every step together. We have clear expectations and rules and boundaries, and maybe, maybe, it’ll work.” Elisa’s smile was rueful. “And maybe it won’t, and we’ll have to figure out where to go from there with our friendship. But isn’t that the risk with every relationship? At some point, you have to take the plunge.”

Francis nudged against Cassie’s feet, and she reached down automatically to pet him, to give herself time to think, to break herself away from Elisa’s gaze.  _We negotiate every step together._ Christ, but that sounded like... _heaven._ She took a deep breath as she scratched the spaniel’s head. 

“I think… a date… would be okay,” she finally said. 

Elisa positively  _ beamed _ at her. “How about Friday? Portland?” 

Portland was good. Portland was big and anonymous. “Yeah. Yes. Sounds great.” 

Elisa eyed her sharply, then turned around to pull out a board game. “Come on, Snap keeps kicking my ass in Munchkin, I need your help to take him down.” 

 

At the end of the night, she hugged Snap like she might her older brothers, and Elisa pressed a kiss to her cheek, and she found that it wasn’t a strange experience at all. 

\--------------------

Cassie had been extremely nervous about the date, about what to talk about, or what to wear, or what they were going to do, or how far they would, um, take things at the end of the night.

Turns out, for most of those things, she needn’t have worried. 

Going on a date with Elisa was just like grabbing lunch in town with Elisa or spending all day working with Elisa. Of  _ course _ they had stuff to talk about. Of  _ course _ Elisa liked Cassie’s jeans and blouse combo (because if it worked the other night, why not again, was Cassie’s argument. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and so forth). 

What was different was that Elisa held her hand as they walked to the restaurant. And sat on the same side of the booth as her, their thighs touching. And rubbed a thumb over her knuckles as she listened to Cassie tell a story about her family. 

But otherwise, she was Elisa, and Cassie was Cassie, and they laughed a lot, and told each other funny stories and dirty jokes, and split the check in half. 

Elisa drove them back, and at Cassie’s place, Cassie paused, her hand on the truck door, holding her breath. 

“Can I kiss you, Cassie?”

“Yeah. Yes,” she answered breathlessly.

Elisa popped her seatbelt and scooted across the truck’s bench seat. Her hand slid over Cassie’s, the other cupping Cassie’s cheek and turning her face toward her. The kiss was slow, and oh, so fucking soft. Almost chaste, if not for the involuntary little sound Cassie made. Elisa hummed against her lips, and Cassie felt them tip up into a smile. 

“Good night, cariño.” 

“Good night,” Cassie whispered back. Elisa scooted back, and Cassie gave her hand one last squeeze before heading out. 

She watched the truck’s lights head back out onto the main road, and then down the driveway for Organa’s, waving to Elisa one last time before walking inside. And in her bedroom, she pulled out her very wonderful, very reliable vibrator and relived the kiss again and again. 

\----------------------------------

It  _ worked _ for Cassie, and that was the weird thing. It worked, and she was happy, except maybe for the niggling feeling that she was keeping this huge secret. She couldn’t be out to her mom, let alone explain that she had a girlfriend who was someone’s  _ wife. _

But oh my, how it  _ worked _ for Cassie. Clear rules and boundaries that made everyone safe and happy.  


The next few weeks they went on a handful of dates, but more than that, they stole moments at the farms. One memorable night, Snap went out with Finn and Poe, and Elisa and Cassie stayed over at the Smith-Dameron house and watched all the kids and made out on the couch when everyone had gone to bed. 

It was another night around the dining table at the Wexleys’, though, when  _ it _ came up. They were in that soft time where Luis had just been put to bed and the adults were finishing up their dinner. Somehow, they had gotten to talking about their experiences, and maybe it should have been weird, talking about it in front of Snap, but it just- it just wasn’t. 

“Have you, with a girl, before?” Elisa asked, her hand curled in Snap’s but her gaze on Cassie. 

“College,” Cassie said with a shrug, like,  _ doesn’t everyone? _ “It’s been awhile.” 

Elisa leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Cassie’s lips. She was used to this, now, showing affection for Elisa in front of Snap. At first it had been weird. “I’m sorry,” Elisa murmured. 

“Huh?”

“That it’s been awhile.” 

Cassie shrugged again. “We could fix that,” she managed, her cheeks flushing furiously. 

Elisa’s eyes glowed in the low light. “Yeah?” She looked back at Snap, who gave her a thumbs up, which was just enough to break the tension and make Cassie laugh. “Okay,” Elisa said, suddenly businesslike. “Snap and I both tested negative at our last tests, but I’m totally okay using a dental dam if you prefer.” 

Cassie stared at her. Snap just laughed. “Don’t let her shock you.” 

“Not shocked,” Cassie said.  _ Kinda shocked. _ “Should I- I get tested? What with, um.” She looked pointedly down at Elisa’s stomach. She and Snap were still trying, after all. 

“Okay, remind me at some point to lecture you on the need to visit your gyno regularly.” Elisa leaned forward to take her hand. “We can do whatever you want to do. Wait for testing, or have safe sex now. Or whenever. Sorry, I just-”

“No, no, it’s really good.” Cassie pressed her hot cheeks. “Just embarrassing,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know why it should be.” 

“See, that’s what I think, too.” Elisa’s grin was catching. “Kinda ruins the spontaneity, but, eh.” 

“She’s going to be one of those moms that sits our kids down and goes through everything with them. The most sex positive kids on the block, probably.” Snap snuck a kiss on Elisa’s cheek. “I can’t wait.” 

“So. To review, whenever you want, cariño, and whatever you want to do, okay?”

“Okay.” 

And then Snap fist bumped her, because that was her life now. 

 

They’d ended up watching an episode of Game of Thrones, though she and Elisa had mostly spent the episode making out, and Snap started snoring halfway through. 

With a fond smile and eyeroll at her husband, Elisa stood, pulling Cassie up with her. “Do you want to come to bed with me?”

“Yes.”

They whispered past Snap and past the sleeping Luis’ room, and Elisa let them into the master bedroom, closing the door behind her. 

“Won’t Snap like, um, get uncomfortable?”

“He’s good where he’s at for now, believe me. I’ll get him later.” Elisa swept Cassie’s braids away from her face and pulled her up to take her mouth again. “I’d like to eat you out, Cass, if you want.” 

Cassie let out a breathless laugh. “Well, sure.” 

Elisa just grinned. “Consent is sexy,” she whispered, biting at Cassie’s earlobe and making her shiver. She worked at the hem of Cassie’s button up, pulling it out of her jeans and opening the buttons. Revealing the shelf cami she wore in place of a bra. Elisa hummed, smoothing her fingers over her stomach and up to cup her small breasts, to run her fingers over Cassie’s nipples and watch them harden through the fabric. 

Cassie pulled her back to the bed, sitting down and drawing Elisa into her lap. Elisa’s thighs slipped down on either side of her, pressing her into the bed, and then Elisa’s mouth was covering hers again and Cassie couldn’t quite believe it was all happening. 

Elisa drew back to pull off her shirt and sports bra, and Cassie took the opportunity to lose her cami. She traced up Elisa’s soft stomach and along the spidering of stretch marks. Leaned in and pressed a kiss between Elisa’s breasts, over her pounding heart, was rewarded with another searing kiss. 

They fell back onto the bed, Elisa still straddling her, moving against her, seeking friction. Cassie arched up, trying to help her find it, trying to find it herself. She moaned, and half of it was swallowed by Elisa’s kiss. Elisa moved on, sucking under her ear, along her neck, pressing kisses down until she found Cassie’s nipple and slipped her lips over it. Cassie buried her fingers in Elisa’s hair and held her there, arching again, loving the nip of Elisa’s teeth. 

Breathless, smiling, Elisa scooted back and began to work on Cassie’s jeans. With a laugh, Cassie tried to help get the tight things off, and they ended up kicking and rolling around on the bed in a mess of giggles. Finally,  _ finally, _ Cassie was naked, Elisa leaning back on her knees to admire the view. 

She kissed Cassie’s stomach, then up her body to her mouth again, then broke off to reach over and pull open a side drawer. Out came a package and a small bottle of lube. “So I’m going to use the dental dam on you, is that okay?”

“Yeah, yeah it is.” Cassie smiled, and let her legs drop open. Elisa grinned back. 

She ran her hands over Cassie’s inner thighs, humming as she admired them. Leaning in, she kissed one, then spent a long moment with her eyes closed, breathing. “You smell amazing,” she murmured. 

Cassie was fairly sure she’d never been more turned on in her _ life. _ “Thanks,” she managed with a breathless laugh. 

“It’s going to be cold for a second, but the lube makes it feel like there’s nothing there, so it’s worth it,” Elisa explained as she opened the dam package and began to prepare. “Here we go.” 

Cassie jumped a little as Elisa’s hands smoothed over her vulva, because yeah, cold, but also, oh god, Elisa’s hands were  _ on her. _ And she was humming some soft little tune under her breath, watching her fingers slide over Cassie’s lips and smiling. Cassie arched up into her touch. “Beautiful,” Elisa  murmured. 

Cassie gripped her fingers into the sheets when Elisa dipped down and began to run her tongue through Cassie’s lips. She found Cassie’s clit, circling her tongue there, and Cassie was amazed at how good it felt, considering the latex barrier. 

And then she kind of just forgot about all of that, and let herself feel. Let Elisa explore and enjoy herself. Let herself enjoy. She spoke in arches and trembles and moans, answering Elisa’s occasional check ins with resounding yeses. Her skin felt like it was vibrating, and she stopped clutching the sheets to feel over herself, to smooth fingers over her sensitive skin and swipe over her nipples. Below, Elisa had two fingers deep inside her, and her tongue flat over Cassie’s clit, and Cassie was arching, riding, flying. 

When Elisa finally brought her to climax, she felt like she’d been climbing there for hours. She collapsed with a groan against the mattress. “You are so gorgeous when you come,” Elisa murmured against her thigh before crawling up her body to kiss her again. Cassie sighed into the kiss, burying her hands in Elisa’s hair. 

She slid a hand down Elisa’s body, found the snap on her jeans. “Can I?” she whispered, taking her cues from Elisa earlier. 

“Yes please,” Elisa answered before taking her mouth again and guiding her hand inside her pants to exactly where she wanted to be touched. She loved the feel of Elisa everywhere, overwhelming her senses. Everything was Elisa, her world was Elisa, as she stroked over her clit and swallowed down her moans. 

When she came, she stiffened in Cassie’s arms, squeezing her eyes shut and holding her breath as she rode Cassie’s fingers, then letting out a squeaky little sigh as she relaxed, boneless, to Cassie’s side. 

“That was fucking fantastic,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to Cassie’s shoulder. “Thank you.” 

“Thank  _ you,”  _ Cassie said with a laugh. 

Elisa rolled out of the bed and danced to the attached bathroom, then came back with a damp washcloth. “Let me just finish the job here.” She grinned up at Cassie as she pulled the dam away and tossed it in the garbage, then lovingly cleaned away the stickiness between Cassie’s legs. Cuddling back into her side when she was done, Elisa murmured, “Do you want to stay?”

Cassie thought about it for a moment, but decided against it. This was working for her, yeah, but sleeping with Elisa and Snap in the same bed was just… just a little more than she wanted. She shook her head. “I should get back. I have an early day tomorrow, have to drive out to the Gorge to talk to some suppliers.” 

“No problem.” Elisa sounded like she meant it, sealing her words with a final kiss. 

\-----------------

It was working for Cassie, and Elisa, and Snap. 

And then...Ben entered the picture again. 

It wasn’t like a sudden declaration of love or even a “hey, do you want to date?” so much as, well, doing the same thing Elisa had done, rooting right into the center of Cassie’s heart by volunteering his time at the farm, working to get their fathers’ legacy running again.

They fell into the rhythms they’d established over the winter. For all that Ben was a city boy now, he had been raised on a farm, after all, and he was fairly good muscle, Cassie mused. They still had another year before they’d be producing their own hops in enough quantity to start up the brewery again, and Ben had actually surprised her by expressing interest in that side of the business. One night, early on, they sat, beers in hand, and talked about the future of Solo Brews. Or Solo-Calrissian Brews, Ben suggested, making Cassie laugh. 

At a quiet moment, Cassie took a drink, then looked back to find Ben staring at her eyes. A few months ago, she might have blushed. Now, she raised a challenging eyebrow. 

“Cass, I know I fucked this up,” Ben murmured, gesturing with his beer bottle between the two of them. “I - as much as I’m happy to be speaking to my mom again, I’m sad that I pushed you away.” His eyes cut away, and he looked vulnerable. Hell, it was a vulnerable act. 

“Well, you’re back now,” she said back, trying to be nonchalant. 

“Is there any- any chance…?”

It was Cassie’s turn to look away, to look down at where her fingers were gripping into her leg. “It’s- um. Complicated. I have, um. A significant other.” 

“Oh, god, I’m sorry, just forget I said anything.”

“No, um, I’m flattered. Really. You were- I mean, once upon a time…”

“Too late, though,” he said with a sardonic twist of his lips. “I’m happy for you, if he’s making you happy.”

Cassie winced internally at the heteronormativity. Hemmed. Hawed. Took another sip of beer. “She does,” she finally said, looking up to meet Ben’s eyes defiantly, given his history. 

Ben flushed, and cleared his throat. “And I guess I need to apologize again. I’m sorry for assuming-” 

Cassie waved it away with her hand. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not, like, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not okay, but right now, it’s okay.” She locked eyes with him. “You can’t tell anyone.” 

He shook his head quickly, then held up one of his ridiculously large hands, pinky extended. “I swear I won’t.” 

Glancing down at the pinky, then back up at him, Cassie grinned and shook it with hers. “Thanks.” 

 

After that, their friendship blossomed. Cassie was glad they’d gotten that awkward conversation out of the way, actually. Because now she could see exactly when Ben and Poe had been friends before Snoke poisoned Ben’s mind. He was sweet, and stupidly, subtly funny, and he was truly trying to atone for his past mistakes. And, he had a head for numbers. While Cassie had taken business classes in college, it was helpful to have another person to run things over with, especially someone like Ben who was invested personally in making the farm work. He was dedicated to building up what he’d lost when he’d rejected his father. 

She even, one night, after making him swear up and down not to judge her, told him about her relationship with Elisa. He was now the only other person who knew besides Snap and Elisa, and she about had a panic attack while she waited for his reaction. 

His reaction: a furrowed brow, and: “I’m just going to assume from the start that I don’t know shit about how any of that is working. So, uh. Do you want to explain it to me? You don’t have to. I know that’s, um. Emotional labor.” 

“Hey, look at you. Learning.” She gave him a friendly punch on the arm, and he grinned goofily. “If you’re not going to freak out on me, I’m not worried about explaining,” she continued, eyebrow raised in challenge. 

“I promise not to freak out.” 

\------------------------

Warm arms wrapped around her middle, a chin moving her braids off her neck so light lips could be pressed there. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Lis,” Cassie sighed, turning in her arms and pulling her down for a kiss. 

Elisa pushed her up against the barn wall and slid her hands down to Cassie’s ass to boost her up a bit. “Mmm, you feel like summer.” 

“That’s because it’s a billion degrees in this barn. I probably smell-” 

“Sweet. You smell sweet, so shut it.” Elisa grinned, nipping at her bottom lip a little. “Can you take a little break? I have to be back at the farm in, like, ten minutes.” 

“Aww. That’s not nearly enough time to have any fun.” 

“Don’t dare me.” 

Cassie just smiled sweetly back. 

“But seriously, break? Get inside, get something cool to drink?”

“Sure,” Cassie replied with a shrug of her shoulders. 

Inside, Elisa pushed Cassie into one of the kitchen chairs and started rummaging around the cupboards and fridge for ice and lemonade. She plunked a cup down in front of Cassie and dropped into a chair, still grinning. 

“So, what’s up?”

“Went to the clinic this morning.” 

Cassie sat up straighter. 

“I’m not going to drag this out. I’m pregnant. It’s, uh, early, still, so we’re not telling anyone, okay?”

Realizing that Elisa and Snap included her in the exclusive group of people - apparently just the three of them - that knew about the pregnancy did funny things to Cassie’s heart. She smiled, pulling Lis over for a quick brush of lips. “Baby, I’m so happy for you.” 

“So I know you knew we were trying before we,” Elisa gestured between them, “became a thing, but…” She cupped Cassie’s face. “I’d understand if you want to bail. It’s- fuck, Cass, it’s a lot, okay? I’ve done it once. The whole shebang is… well. Not pleasant, for the most part. It’s the best, being a mom, don’t get me wrong. But you didn’t sign up for it automatically when we started dating. So I won’t blame you if you want to cut and run, you know?”

Cassie froze, and tried to examine her feelings, because she wanted to immediately reject this idea Elisa was proposing, but the steadier part of her - her mom’s influence, for sure, and not her dad’s - held back. “What does - what does it look like to you? In your mind? Me staying in the picture?”

Elisa’s thumb brushed over her cheek. “I’d love more of the same. Dates. Girl time. I’m just- I mean. Pregnancy basically turns me into a cantankerous bitch. I just want you to know what you’re signing up for.” 

“So you’re not looking for- for like, a more, I don’t know, permanent thing. Like co-parenting, or anything.” 

“I’m not.” Elisa’s eyes were sincere on hers. “Are you?” she whispered. 

“I’m not,” Cassie murmured back, almost surprising herself. 

“Do you still want to be with me, like we have been?”

“I- yes. Yes. Is that- is that okay?”

“Cariño, god, you are the sweetest thing. You’re telling me I can have a husband  _ and _ a girlfriend, and everyone’s okay with the situation? I’m going to be the most pampered pregnant lady there ever was.” 

Cassie grinned back at Elisa, then drew her into another kiss. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty great. I mean, I’ve got morning sickness, well, more like afternoon sickness. I’ve had to spend my afternoon break for the last week in the bathroom, but hey, babies! Miracle of life, et cetera.” She smiled at Cassie’s frown. “Seriously, it’s okay. It sucks, but it could be a lot worse. The stories I heard at mommy group. So you’re not freaked out?”

Again, Cassie took a moment to formulate her answer. “I’m not. I’m so, so happy for you guys. And I know this is going to change life in general, but I hope it doesn’t change us.” 

“Well, the biggest difference is that I’m going to be incredibly tired for the next...let’s go with three years, depending on my milk?” She brushed her thumb over Cassie’s lips. “I’m going to be a really bad girlfriend, probably. I just want you to know, that decision to stay or to get out? You can make it at any time. I’ll be incredibly sad to see you go, but I’ll understand. And I always have Snap. You’re like. My cherry on top. Don’t let me be your minuscule sundae.” 

“You have the most ridiculous metaphors.” Except, when Cassie thought about it, it was sort of perfect, actually. Exactly how she felt about Elisa. “What if- what if you’re my cherry on top, too?” 

“But you’re missing the ice cream.” 

“Am I, though?” Cassie said, even as she thought of Ben. She shrugged. “I promise, if I’m unhappy, we’ll talk it through, okay? But right now, I’m not unhappy at all.” 

Lis crawled into her lap to bury her fingers in Cassie’s braids and take her mouth. “You are an amazing girlfriend. I love you so much.” 

“I love you, too.” 

Elisa sighed, resting her cheek against Cassie’s. “Okay, I need to get back. I already missed most of the morning with the appointment and celebrating with Snap. I need to get some work done before the nausea takes me out of commission for a bit.” She kissed Cassie’s cheek. “But, my place later? We can test out that whole ‘pregnant women taste different thing, if you want,” she said with a wink. 

Cassie laughed, pulling her in for one last kiss before helping her up. “I mean, when you put it like that, now I  _ have  _ to know. To satisfy my scientific curiosity.” 

“I look forward to it, beautiful.” 

\-----------------------

The Fourth of July Incident, as it was being called around the farm, was terrifying and awful and Cassie’s heart went out to Finn and Poe and poor Amelia. When Finn texted and asked for Ben’s number, though, Cassie felt a little lighter in her heart. 

She ended up agreeing to head over to the Smith-Dameron property with Ben, because he was being a nervous idiot about the whole thing.  _ What are friends for?  _

What she wasn’t expecting was for Finn to tease her about her ‘relationship’ with Ben. She got flustered, and felt a bit like punching Finn in the arm for making her feel that way, and for making assumptions, and for being heteronormative… seriously, did she need to shout from the rooftops, “There are more bi people than you think!” for people not to assume stuff?

But then he distracted her by bringing her into the living room where Ben was shyly, awkwardly, half-in-love-ly interacting with Amelia, because Amelia made everyone fall in love with her, and Cassie’s heart stopped for a second. Stuttered. Brought back old feelings. Complicated old feelings. 

“Oh,” she managed. 

Finn grinned at her, stupid  _ guy, _ and said, “Trust me, it’ll be okay,” like all Cassie had to do was believe in the power of love or something. 

And like, she  _ knew _ Finn had her best interest at heart but  _ blargh. _

Because now she had all these uncompartmentalized  _ feelings _ that felt different than all her lovely, beautiful, within-boundaries feelings for Elisa. And how had that happened? And  _ why? _

Why couldn’t her heart be satisfied with her perfectly lovely girlfriend?

And then:  _ Oh. So this is how Elisa feels.  _

_ This is poly. Or maybe it is. _

\------------------

After the visit, she sought out the one person she knew who was most knowledgeable in the subject: Elisa, of course. Who else to have a poly-crisis with than your poly girlfriend?

Elisa frowned at her “Can we talk?” and bustled her inside. “Luis is down for a nap, Snap is out covering Poe’s work so Poe can be with Amelia, come on in. Are you okay? You look a little pale.” 

She pushed Cassie down onto the couch gently, and sat beside her, angling them so she could rub over Cassie’s shoulders and press a kiss on her cheek. “You’re so tense. What’s the matter, cariño?”

“I think I have feelings for someone,” Cassie admitted softly. 

Elisa just continued to massage her shoulders. “Tell me more.” 

“Ben. I have feelings for Ben, and it’s...complicated.” When Elisa stayed quiet, Cassie struggled to find more words. “Everything with you was - is - easy. Because you set up our boundaries, and it’s been easy to stay within those. To get what we both want out of this. With Ben, it’s never been that clear. We’re friends, best friends, even, but when it comes to relationship stuff… we’re not good at communicating.” 

Elisa pressed a kiss to her neck. “You haven’t been good in the past, maybe, but you have a different experience now. You can do with Ben what you did with me.” 

“Even if I think he might be my sundae, and not my cherry?” Elisa chuckled at that, low, and it made Cassie laugh, too, if a bit tearily.

“What makes you think you can’t negotiate boundaries in all of your relationships?”

“You and Snap…?”

“Oh yeah. Absolutely. And other people do it, too. Finn and Poe, definitely, though they probably don’t call it that.”

“What if he doesn’t want a girlfriend that’s already dating someone?”

Elisa’s arms smoothed down her shoulders and came around her stomach to hold her in a close hug, her chin resting on Cassie’s shoulder. Cassie leaned into it, sighing a bit. “Do you want to date both of us at once?” she murmured in Cassie’s ear. 

As she was wont to do, Cassie went quiet and let herself think about it as she rubbed over Elisa’s arms. “Yes. Maybe, in the future, no? But right now, yes. And not because I think Ben won’t like it, but because I want this, right now. Who’s to say what I’ll want in the future?”

Elisa laughed again. “Good. Be stubborn about it. Either your partner accepts your stubbornness and you work together to find a solution, or you need a new partner. Just ask Snap.” She squeezed Cassie closer. “If Ben can’t come around to what you want right now, then you’ll have to come around to not wanting Ben. Did you know the surefire solution to getting over a man is lots of sex with your girlfriend?”

Cassie snorted. “I love you.” 

“I love you right back, cariño.” 

“So I’m going to talk to Ben.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Want me to help you figure out what to say?”

“Yeah. Later.”

“Want to make out with me until Luis wakes up?”

“Yeah,” Cassie replied with a laugh, turning and drawing Lis into her lap. 

\-------------------------------

“Hey!” Cassie swung the door open to Ben’s lanky frame, and he grinned awkwardly at her. 

“Hey. I, um, brought this?” He held up a six pack of a Salem brewery. “More research?”

Cassie grinned. “My favorite kind. Come on, the pizza’s already cooking.” 

Ben strode in with his stupidly long legs and set the beer on the kitchen table, then turned and looked quizzical. “I thought we were going to go over the plans-” Cassie understood his confusion; normally the table was covered in papers. 

“I was, um. Wondering if you wanted to talk, first?” Cassie bit her lip, then turned to get a church key and popped open two of the six pack. Handed one off to Ben, who was looking worried. 

“Sure, Cass,” he replied, sitting down when she gestured.

She took a drink as she sat, let herself collect her thoughts once more. “Remember when you asked about if there was still anything between us?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you still interested?”

“I-” Ben choked on a sip of beer and coughed, flustered. “Yes. I’m sorry. Have I been too obvious? I didn’t mean to make things awkward, I swear.” 

“No- no. You’ve done a good job of hiding it, then. Or maybe not, since Finn thinks we’re about to get married.”

“Oh jeez,” Ben replied, rubbing his neck, his cheeks pink. 

“I am...also interested. Maybe I was the whole time. I don’t know.” 

“Oh-okay. Um.” Ben sat up a little straighter. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” Cassie sighed, “I like you, and I liked you before, and I’ve probably liked you this whole time, but it scares me, because you’re not- It’s not like with Elisa. I know what’s expected of me there, and what to expect. We have structure, boundaries.” She scratched a little at the bottle’s paper label. “I’m not exactly a spontaneous person.” 

“I like that about you,” Ben said quietly, making Cassie look up. He was smiling now, just a little. “I like a lot about you, but I love that you’re a thinker. You’re not rash. I’m- well. You know. Everyone knows. Not the best at that, although I’ve gotten better with therapy.” 

“I’d like to try, with us, if you want. But I have to- I need to set that structure. And I don’t know if that will work for you.” 

“I’d like to talk about it before we totally dismiss the idea.”

Cassie slipped a hand over Ben’s on the table. “Then let’s talk about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie and Elisa took me by surprise. I had no idea there was a poly relationship under my nose at the farm this whole time!


	3. Poe and Ben - rated T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated T for language
> 
> This fic takes place between Dinner with the Smith-Damerons and I Swear It Was an Accident; about a year after the Ben drama, in the summer. 
> 
> Obviously this is about Ben and Poe interacting and talking. If that's not your jam, you might want to skip this one.

“Poe.”

“Ben.” Poe returned Ben’s cordial nod. “The place looks great.” 

“That would mostly be Cassie,” Ben said, rubbing his neck and grinning. 

“I know, I’ll find her and tell her,” Poe joked, and Ben laughed, leaning against the wall beside him and observing the scene. 

It was the grand reopening of the brewery, finally, and the place was packed, standing room only. Cassie was in every corner, it seemed like, talking with everyone and passing out samples left and right. 

“What’re you drinking?”

“The Organa’s marionberry-apple cider, and can I say, whoever you’re getting your marionberries from must be a master farmer.” Poe winked. 

“Only the best ingredients here at Hando Brewing.”

“I’ll drink to that.” 

It’d been a year since Amelia’s accident, a year since the cold war had been over, and Poe and Ben were still trying to find their way back, if there was a way back, to what they’d been. Some things couldn’t be repaired, Poe knew, but he’d also found in his incredibly old age now, that those things were few and far between. Hell, look at Finn and his dad. So he was trying, and Ben was trying, and it was still kind of awkward. 

Poe clinked glasses with Ben, and looked at the portrait up above the bar. Han and Lando were clinking glasses themselves, and smiling down at the patrons of their brewery. Ben and Cassie had commissioned Meghan to paint it, which had just about sent the teen to the moon with happiness, being _paid_ to make _art._ _(It’s the_ coolest _thing, Dad!)._ Poe smiled at the memory. 

Ben followed his gaze up to the portrait and turned somber. “Meghan did a great job.” 

“I knew she was talented, but she really captured their hearts, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s- it’s really, really good. When we hung it - well. That’s when everything came together.” 

“The Legacy.” 

“I finally made good on it, I guess.” 

Poe turned to Ben, serious. “You kidding? I’d say you exceeded expectations, buddy.” 

“Only ‘cause the expectations were so incredibly low.”

“Oh, fuck that.”

“Poe-”

“No, seriously, fuck that. Fuck it all, you know?” Poe leaned his head back against the wall and looked at the ceiling for a second. “The other day, I made Meghan mad because I told her to text when she got to the movie theater, and so then of course, ‘I don’t trust her.’” He sighed. “My point being, teenagers are… well, they sure as hell aren’t adults, no matter how mature Meghan is.” He paused, let that sink in. “No matter how mature you and I thought we were back then.” 

“What I said- what I did, Poe, being young isn’t an excuse, I don’t want you to think that-”

“No, but there’s a reason dictators start recruitment with the youth. And cult leaders. And assholes like Snoke.” Poe sighed again. “Listen, I’m just saying, maybe, maybe looking at it from that perspective will help us get past this whole awkward thing. Because it’s not like either of us are going anywhere anytime soon,” he said with a nod to Cassie, who was deep in conversation with Finn. 

“I’ll drink to that,” Ben murmured. Then: “Thank you. Thank you for everything. For letting me have some years with my mom. For letting my mom still be a part of your family. Thank you.” 

“Finn’s more generous than I am with forgiveness.” 

“I’m never going to stop thanking you. And I don’t know how to stop asking for forgiveness. I’m always going to be the person who pushed you away, and attacked the love of your life.” 

“I mean, you could, you know, not bring that up,” Poe replied with a sardonic twist of lips. 

“But then how will I self-flagellate?” Ben joked back, scrubbing a hand over his face. 

“Hey, you can self-flagellate all you want, I’m just telling you, I’m making the decision right now to not Poe-flagellate you anymore. I’m done, and moving on.”

“Therapy’s a hell of a thing, isn’t it?”

Poe smiled, and clinked glasses with Ben again. “Heck yeah it is. To therapy.” 

“To therapy.”


	4. Mary and Meghan - rated M

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated M for discussion of sex and body parts  
> CW: Discussion of gender confirmation surgery, gender dysphoria, and transphobia
> 
> Meghan is 24 in this fic and Mary is somewhere in her late 30s. This takes place after Hey, I was going to eat that! and The Lucky Jacket: Amelia.
> 
> Year 13: Amelia/15, Caleb/11, Meghan/24, Finn/36, Poe/45

There was a brief knock on her apartment door, then the sound of a key, and then the bustle of noise that always surrounded Mary had pushed her way in. “Okay, chica, emergency reinforcements are here. I’ve got cookie dough ice cream, Fury Road because fuck men, and a stupidly large Papa Murphy’s chicken bacon artichoke.” 

Meghan had texted Mary earlier because all she’d wanted to do was burrow and wallow, or maybe run away, and she knew not to follow those impulses. Now, however, Mary seemed too bright, too upbeat. She groaned on the couch and threw the afghan up over her face. 

Mary seemed to understand, though, and bopped into the kitchen, humming and chattering to Meghan without expecting a reply. By the time the pizza was in the oven, Meghan had been caught up on not only Mary and Edgar’s current lives - which mostly centered around their many nieces and nephews, Mary and Edgar having chosen not to have children of their own - but also her dads, Amelia, Caleb, the farm, the new construction on Market, and how it was making everything a bitch during rush hour, and how they were thinking about moving out to Independence anyway since they were friends with everyone on the farm and the country seemed nice but then again they’d be farther away from their families - and their sobrinos.

Meghan’s head was reeling a little bit, but she wasn’t thinking about Chad, either, so that was good. 

“Where are we at in this process?” Mary plopped down beside her on the couch and pulled the afghan down. “Have we gotten absolutely blasted on sugary alcoholic beverages yet?”

“That sounds...not fun.” 

“Well of course it’s not fun, but it takes your mind off the break up. Believe me, I did this many times before I met the best man in the world and snatched him off the market.” 

“I’m never going to find an Edgar,” Meghan moaned, feeling sorry for herself. What was that about avoiding burrowing and wallowing?

“Mmm. Well. You’re only 24.” 

“How old were you when you found Edgar?” 

“Like, 27, I think? Shit, how long have we been together?” Mary sat back, her arms folded over her chest, and hummed while she thought about it. 

“I’m not going to find an Edgar in the next three years, then.” 

“So? Your dads didn’t meet until Poe was 34. Hey, my older sister Lucia? Met her babydoll and got married when she was 45!” 

“That’s almost literally double my age!”

“Chica, it is going to be  _ okay. _ There’s no rush. What, did you want to marry this guy, anyway?”

Meghan felt like she might throw up. “I mean. I don’t know. Maybe. Not now, obviously, not after he told me…” She trailed off, picking at the edge of the afghan. 

“What did that motherfucker tell you? Am I going to need to round up the posse?” 

“No, god, please, no, don’t tell my dads.”

Mary covered her hand, squeezed it. “What did he say?” she asked more gently. 

“He didn’t- he couldn’t- Oh god, this is embarrassing.” 

“Come on, Megs, you can tell your Auntie Mary.” She opened her arms, and Meghan fell into them, burrowing into her chest, feeling like she was about 10 years old again. Nevermind that she hadn’t had Mary, or anyone, to bury her face in, when she had been 10. 

“He didn’t find me sexy. He didn’t- I mean, he did, when everything was, um, covered up, but then, during sex - too many dicks-” 

Mary stroked over her hair. “That motherfucker. Have you ever met a Chad that wasn’t a motherfucker? I mean, they probably exist, but they’re like, a rarity.” 

Meghan couldn’t help but laugh a little, even as she soaked Mary’s shirt with tears. 

“There weren’t too many dicks in the bedroom, babe, there was just one  _ massive _ one that was getting in his way.” She paused. “It’s him, he’s the massive dick.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Meghan replied with a watery laugh. She sobered, her fingers clutching into Mary’s sweater. “How, though? It’s so fucking  _ hard. _ It’s not  _ fair. _ In the pie graph of humanity I have to find someone who likes me for me, who doesn’t fetishize me, and who won’t attack me because they’re expecting something else down there and liking me made them a ‘homo’. It’s like, the narrowest slice of pie on the chart.” 

“It’s not fair, sweetie.” Mary’s voice was totally serious now, and she pressed a kiss into Meghan’s hair. “It’s not fair at all. I’m sorry.” 

She let Mary stroke through her hair like that for awhile, Mary humming something soothing. 

“Shall I put in Furiosa so we can watch some kick ass ladies kill all those dicks?”

“Mhmm.” 

She felt Mary’s smile against her forehead, and she let her up to grab the pizza from the oven and pop the dvd in. They snuggled back in together, both tucked under the afghan, to enjoy watching toxic masculinity get destroyed.

As the credits rolled, Meghan leaned her head into Mary’s shoulder. “There’s a surgery I could get.” 

“Mm?”

“To, uh. Rearrange everything down there, so to speak. Gender confirmation surgery.”

“Are you just thinking about this because of Chad?”

“I-” Meghan sighed. “I don’t have a great answer for that. Which is why my therapist says I should wait.” 

“That seems...reasonable.” 

“I just hate it, Mary. I hate it so much. Every time I have to use it, to pee, or whatever, masturbate...I just hate it.” 

“I’m so sorry, Meghan,” Mary replied, wrapping her arms around Meghan and pulling her in for a tight hug. 

“It’s expensive, anyway. But I made a savings account for it. Set up an auto transfer. It won’t be enough for the initial fee for a few years, anyway, so I kind of already have something to keep me from making a rash decision.” 

“That’s good. Very adult. I like that.” She was carding her fingers through Meghan’s hair again. “But someday, whether you get this surgery or not, you will find someone who wants you for you. Who thinks you’re sexy, however your body is. Everyone is sexy to somebody. So if the surgery makes you feel better about yourself because you don’t have to confront this piece of your body that you hate every time you have to go to the bathroom, well, I think that sounds amazing.” She paused. “I say, of course, as a cis person. So, you know.” 

“Yeah.” Meghan pushed herself up to meet Mary’s eyes. “But thank you.” She tried a smile. “I think I’m ready for that ice cream. No sugary alcoholic drinks, though, please. I don’t actually want to throw up.” 

“Aww, come on, it’s like a dumpee rite of passage.” Mary grinned, cupping Meghan’s cheeks gently and smacking a big kiss on her forehead. “You’re just no fun, Megs. But, if you insist, then hey, Edgar’s going to be ecstatic, because I don’t exactly recover from hangovers like I used to, you know. I swear, my thirties are amazing, but that part sucks. Ah well, I’ll take the increased sex drive.” She winked at Meghan. “I love you, chica.” 

“I love you, too, Auntie,” Meghan said with a grin. 


	5. Amelia and Anne - rated T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated T  
> CW: Discussion of periods 
> 
> This one takes place over a lot of years of O's Os, but when I put it in the long fic, it's going in between Amelia's Wedding Day and Amelia's Visit.

Anne had regrets. Oh my, did she have regrets. 

She watched her son deliver touching vows, and kiss Poe as his husband for the first time, and beam back at the crowd, smile radiant. She held Findley’s hand tightly and tried not to cry from regret.  

She sat with Findley, in a small apartment, alone, because he hadn’t wanted any of their friends to see him like this, and because she’d respect the wishes of a dying man. She held Findley’s hand tightly and cried, regretting a love that had so consumed her that she’d pushed everyone away. 

She listened to Finn forgive her, when she didn’t deserve it, and begged to be a part of his life again, for the first time. 

She didn’t regret this, though. She didn’t regret moving to Oregon, or moving in with Leia. She could never, ever regret moving closer to her granddaughter. 

 

**When Amelia was 4:**

“Higher, Nan!”

Anne laughed indulgently and pushed Amelia harder. Her heart felt lighter with every delighted laugh Amelia made. She’d officially become a Smith-Dameron the day before, and life, Anne thought, was grand. 

 

**When Amelia was 7, and granddaughter had become granddaughters:**

“Have you ever cooked a tart in your life?” Leia asked, amused at Anne’s flustered appearance. 

“No,” Anne sighed, setting a ruined batch on the counter. “But Amelia asked for tarts, so tarts, Nan learns to make.” 

Leia looked skeptically in the garbage. “You know, there’s that nice bakery right on Main street in Independence.” 

“That’s cheating. I  _ will _ get this right, and it will be the perfect day of tea and art for Amelia and Meghan.” 

“It’s 2 am, Anne.” 

“I  _ know _ that,” she said through gritted teeth. “Are you going to do something helpful or are you just here to pick at me?”

Leia held up her hands defensively. “I’m mostly here to make sure you don’t burn down my house by falling asleep with the oven on.” 

Anne sent her a baleful glare. 

“Okay, okay, I’m here to help.” Leia started rinsing the mixing bowl for another use. “Lord knows I never learned any of this shit from my mom, either,” she muttered. 

They were quiet for a bit. 

“You know, I see where Finn gets it.” 

“Gets what?” Anne asked, surprised. She was fairly sure no one could ever accuse her of being a good enough parent to Finn to give him any of her habits or traits.

“The high-strung need for perfection. The anxiety.” 

_ Oh. _ “Oh.” 

“Hey, it’s not a  _ bad _ thing, Annie. Just, you know, you gotta let your hair down sometime and relax.” 

Anne snorted. “Right. Because that’ll show Finn that I’m worth his time.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Anne.” Leia stopped her hands from cracking more eggs. “We should maybe dissect that a little more?”

Anne let herself be pulled into Leia’s arms as she sighed. “Yeah.” 

 

**When Amelia was 11, and granddaughters had become grandchildren:**

Finn had texted her the news, of course, but Anne was surprised to see Amelia herself show up at the door to the main house later that day, her arms crossed over her chest, a frown heavy on her face. 

“It sucks,” she said, in lieu of a greeting. 

Anne sighed. “It does.” 

“I do  _ not _ get how people do this  _ every month.” _

Anne wrapped an arm around Amelia’s shoulders and headed toward the kitchen. “You want some hot chocolate?”

Amelia thought about it for a second. “I would  _ die _ for some hot chocolate.” 

Anne busied herself in the kitchen, filling and turning on the kettle, finding the hot chocolate packets, getting down two mugs. 

“I feel gross,” Amelia mumbled. 

Anne sat across from her as the kettle worked. She stopped one of Amelia’s tapping hands by placing her own over it. “Understandable. It can be gross. Mostly that’s your hormones talking, though. It’s a natural cycle, and-” Anne stopped, let out a little laugh, pressing her fingers to her lips. “Dear lord, I do believe I was about to tell you what my mama told me when this happened.” 

Amelia looked at her curiously. “What’d she tell you?”

“That it’s a natural cycle, and now you’re a woman.” 

Amelia stared. “That’s kind of silly.” 

“Indeed, and extremely old fashioned. Don’t worry, my little lady, this doesn’t mean you have to grow up now.” 

_ “Good.” _

Anne smiled at the disgruntled sound of Amelia’s voice as she stood to grab the hot water and prepare the hot chocolate. 

“So, are you in any pain?” she asked, ready to help Amelia through the next stage of life. 

 

**When Amelia was 18:**

She was fairly sure Amelia was hiding something. Nothing horrible, of course, and if the girl didn’t want to tell, Anne shouldn’t stick her nose in it, of course. Except Amelia was that kind of bubbly excited a young woman got when they’d  _ met _ someone, it seemed to Anne. The kind of bubbly-excited that  _ wanted _ to share her secret. 

So she set up the tried and true method from throughout Amelia’s teens and set the kettle on for hot chocolate as Amelia excitedly told her about her winter quarter at U of O. 

“I was in this one class with like, 500 people, and the professor posted all his stuff online, so it was super hard to motivate myself to go.” Amelia wrinkled her nose. “I liked my PE class better.” 

Anne laughed, and pressed a kiss down on top of Amelia’s head. “Of  _ course _ you did. So what _did_ motivate you?”

“Oh, the class was in Columbia, so I could meet Eli for lunch in the EMU.” 

“I don’t think you’ve told me about Eli.” 

“I haven’t? Oh, he’s my friend. Um, a pre-med major.” 

“Just like your grandfather,” Anne murmured, because Amelia didn’t mind Anne referring to Findley like that even though she’d never met the man.

Amelia smiled and patted Anne’s hand. “Yeah, I guess so, huh?” 

“Tell me more about him.” Anne watched Amelia bubble up again, and thought  _ oh yes. There we go. _

 

**When Amelia was 23:**

Amelia plunked down at the table, flushed, but so so happy, Anne had to smile. “Can I bring you anything, Nan?”

“You should be dancing, sweetie, not keeping an old lady company.” 

“Old-shmold. The cake is great.” 

Anne let Amelia refill her water glass as they both watched Finn and Poe dance. “You look beautiful, Amelia.” 

Amelia smoothed over the skirt of her wedding dress and blushed. “It all turned out okay, I kind of can’t believe it.” 

“Better than okay.” Anne reached out a shaky hand to take Amelia’s. “I’m glad I got to see it.” 

“Me, too.” Amelia brought her hand to her lips. “Love you, Nan.” 

“Love you, my girl.” 


	6. Chris and Leia - rated E

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated E for smut (not between Chris and Leia, lol)  
> CW: discussion of gender confirmation surgery and neovaginas; panic attack
> 
> This takes place in between Babysitting and The Lucky Jacket: Meghan and Chris
> 
> Year 28: Amelia/30, Eli/31, Caleb/25, Meghan/38, Chris/45, Finn/51, Poe/61, Riya and Alex/about 1.5

When he woke, his nose was buried in the crook of Meghan’s neck, breathing in her scent. She was spooned up against him, her sweet little ass against his morning wood in a way that had him contemplating how much time they had together this morning. 

They had the cabin blessedly to themselves; Riya had slept over with the grandpas, at their request, and they were in a transition period in the veteran program that meant Chris was the only occupant. 

This meant, Chris thought, that they could make a lot of noise. And since they had nowhere in particular to be… well. The morning seemed to be shaping up just fine. 

He lingered like that, his face pressed to Meghan’s skin, his hand resting on her stomach, and let his eyes slip closed again. He’d see what Meghan wanted to do when she woke up. 

 

Meghan woke up with a start, her heart still beating quickly from an anxiety dream. She reached over immediately to check that her phone didn’t have any messages from her dads, was reassured right away by the blank screen, and sighed back into Chris’ arms.

“Everything okay?” Chris rumbled behind her. God, she loved his voice in the morning. 

She turned in his arms so he’d be able to see her lips. They often forewent full on signing when they were wrapped in each other like this, though they’d developed their own little system of signals that meant ‘good’ or ‘slow’ or ‘stop’ or ‘I love you a whole bunch, I am the luckiest person alive, please kiss me’. “Seems to be. Nothing from my dads. Just had a bad dream about Riya.” 

Chris kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, detangling it a little bit from the night. “I’m sorry, darlin’. Want to talk about it?” 

Meghan shook her head, and cuddled in closer, made their sign for “good” against his chest. She liked that Chris slept shirtless, even in the depths of winter. Liked to rub her face against his considerable amount of chest hair just to make him smile. She let his warmth chase away the dredges of the bad dream. When she’d gotten the comfort she needed, she pulled back so she could talk again. 

“What are we supposed to do today?”

“I have a meeting at the main house this afternoon, at two.”

She glanced behind her, where the bedside clock told her it was eight. She turned back with a smile, running her fingers down Chris’ side and finding his hand, squeezing it. “So what you’re saying is, we have time.” 

“That we do, darlin’.” He dipped his head down, met her in a sweet kiss. 

She wrapped her leg over his hip and pulled him down on top of her, deepening the kiss as she did. He worked at the buttons of her long-sleeved pajama shirt, moving down to press kisses as he exposed more skin. Humming, she carded her fingers through his hair and watched his progress down her body. Her breasts had never gotten larger than an A cup, which she liked, honestly, and was glad he did too. He spent time there now, cupping the skin, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth gently. 

He loved on her slowly, working her up, making her heart beat faster. Chris was so fucking good at this, at making her feel special and cherished and loved. She felt her body swell from it, intense, perfect. He checked in with her before moving to her vagina, and she gave him the “good” gesture again. And an “I love you” for good measure. 

She loved the way her body did this now. It was slow, maybe frustrating to anyone who didn’t have the patience to worship her like Chris did. Yeah, it was slower, but lord, it was _so much_ more intense. She could feel the orgasm blooming inside her, warming her from the inside out, even though she wasn’t close yet. She sighed, hugging over her stomach as Chris sucked on her clit. She rocked her hips up, guiding him, moaning with pleasure when he heeded her. 

“Lube?” he mumbled against her thigh, and she reached down to card through his hair in acknowledgement before twisting away. Tossing the lube down to him - he caught it in one hand with a self-pleased little grin that made Meghan’s heart twist - she leaned back and let him continue to do his thing. 

Before she and Chris had had vaginal sex for the first time, she’d walked in on him - surprised him accidentally - studying his laptop intently, brow furrowed. When she’d made her presence known, she’d been surprised herself to see a blush cross his cheeks. After some amount of prodding, he’d admitted to researching neovaginas online and how best to please her. And that’s when Meghan figured out that she was probably going to marry this man.

Now he was an expert on her body, because hey, practice made perfect, or at least, practice made orgasm, most of the time. He slicked up two fingers and slid them inside her, checking her dilation, getting her wet, searching for her G spot. It was a tricky little fucker, not as easy to find as it had been anally, before, but he always gave it his best shot, her man. With fingers in her, and his mouth on her clit again, he brought her to peak, pleasure rippling through her. 

He let her come down a little, still stroking inside her though, and kissing her thigh, and looking at her as lovingly as she was probably looking at him. With a signal, he crawled up her body, finding her mouth again, getting lost in kisses for awhile. 

She pushed Chris gently onto his back, checking in with him now, getting the okay. She smiled, kissing him as she slicked up her hand and wrapped it around his cock. She loved stroking him, drinking down the groans he was making. He was perfectly sized for her, on the small side of average, so he wouldn’t bottom out and make it painful. She straddled him and sunk down slowly, running her hands over his chest and watching his face go tight with pleasure. 

“Think you can come again?” Chris murmured, voice deep and desperate. 

She shrugged carelessly, but grinned and moved one of his hands from her hip to her clit. “Let’s try.” 

\------------------

Chris set the coffee - light and sweet, the way Meghan liked it - down in front of her as she spooned up some cereal. “<Thanks, babe,>” she signed, smiling up at him. 

Saturday mornings didn’t really get any better than this. He sat with his own coffee - light, not sweet - and pulled the cereal box and milk over. 

“<So what’s the meeting about?>” Meghan asked, before she continued flicking through her phone, catching up on social media. 

“I… have an idea.” He spoke into the rim of his coffee mug, nervous. 

“<Oh?>” She looked up, eyes intent. 

Chris sighed, and met her eyes. “I think your dad is going to pass head manager of the farm on to me.” He watched Meghan for a reaction, but she gave none immediately. 

“<That makes sense,>” she said eventually. “<Why does that make you nervous, Chris?>”

For some reason, her quiet show of confidence in him bothered him. “This is a million dollar business, Megs. I’m-” He bit off, not wanting to complete the sentence. 

“<You’re a good farmer>,” Meghan murmured. “<You have a head for this stuff. And you’re already practically managing everything anyway. My dad’s been grooming you for this for years.>” She ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “<And honestly, I’d love to see Poe retire. Maybe Finn will, then, too, and I can stop worrying him driving to and from Salem every day.>”

She leaned forward, brushed her lips over Chris’. “<Are you going to turn down the offer?>”

“No, I- no. I’m not. Just-” he sighed again. “Just not sure if I’m the right person for the job.” 

“<My dad loves this land with all of the parts of his heart that aren’t reserved for Finn, or us kids, or any of the people connected to him. He wouldn’t pass it over to the wrong person.>”

Undone, nowhere near as confident as she, he scrubbed a hand over his face. 

“Hey.” She held his hand, and made sure her lips were visible. “You want to go pick up Riya with me and take her for a walk through the fields?”

He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. “Yes,” he said gratefully.

\---------------------

When he arrived at the main house, he was surprised to see Cassie and Ben walking up hand-in-hand. “I didn’t realize you guys were coming,” he called, opening the screen door politely for them. 

“<We’re helping Mom with some stuff after.>” Ben reached forward to open the door and let them in. 

Chris was shocked, and had to pause in the doorway. Sure, he hadn’t been in the main house for like, a week, but everywhere, there were signs of moving. Packing boxes taped and ready to go. A box marked ‘give away’. All the homey touches Leia had put on the place packed away, apparently. “What-”

Poe appeared in the doorway to the living room and nodded his head toward them. “<We’re in here.>”

Leia was sitting in her arm chair, upright, a knitted afghan tucked around her. She was slowly, with shaky hands, wrapping tchotchkes in newspaper, but smiled as they entered, accepted a kiss on the cheek from Ben. 

“So I’m the only one looking surprised right now,” Chris observed after the greetings were over. 

Poe tapped his knee to get his attention, then signed, “<We’ve been keeping this under wraps, but Leia is moving in with Ben and Cassie.>” 

“But the main house is bigger. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Ben and Cassie and the kids to move here?” Cassie and Ben had gained custody of her sister’s children a few years ago, after a terrible accident. 

“This place is too big,” Leia said, Poe translating for Chris. “Too quiet, after Anne- Well. Anyway, too many stairs here, too.” 

“When? How can I help?”

Leia beamed at him. “Well, Chris, I was hoping you’d ask. You see, this house hasn’t been empty since I bought it in the ‘70s. I don’t want it to be empty after I leave it, either.” 

Chris stared at her blankly. 

“<We’ve all talked,>” Poe said. “<You probably knew I wanted to offer you the farm manager position.>” Chris nodded, swallowing. “<We’d actually like to offer you the deed to the house, now, and the farm, in my will.>”

“I- what- I-” Panic slammed into him, and he stood, hastily, needing space, needing air. He made it to the front porch before he head to sit and stick his head between his legs and try to keep himself from hyperventilating. 

Eventually, he felt the vibration of the front door opening and closing, and slow footsteps making their way to the porch swing. He looked up, surprised to see Leia through blurry eyes. “Can you read my lips from there?” she asked, and though it took him a second, he nodded. “How are you doing?”

“Um.” He scrubbed over his face. “It’s a lot.” 

“You don’t have to take it, Chris.” 

“It should go to family.” 

Leia smiled. “It is,” she replied simply. 

“I’m not family.” 

“Oh? How would you define family?”

“It’s blood, it’s name, it’s-” 

“And since when have blood or name ever mattered at Organa’s?” She leaned on her cane, pushing herself into a rocking motion on the porch swing. “Poe doesn’t have either, but he’ll own the farm when I'm gone.”

“Poe’s- Poe’s different.” 

“He’s my son. And so are you. Well,” and she smiled, “grandson, maybe. When are you going to marry that girl, by the way?”

Chris choked on a laugh. “Um. Well. As to that, it would be up to that girl, really.” 

Leia grinned. “Good answer.” She rocked back. “But in the meantime, here’s a nice big home, already hard-of-hearing accessible for her little one.”

“I have never been trusted with anything this big in my life.” 

“I’d imagine Meghan would say differently, given that she’s trusted you with her heart.” 

Chris laughed again, had to, because damn if she wasn’t right. Meghan’s love was the most precious thing he’d ever been trusted with. 

“I don’t want the place to sit here and rot, Chris. And I don’t want it to leave the family. With you in charge, Poe and I know it won’t.”

“You are...really good at this.” 

“You can’t be a female businesswoman in the seventies without learning a few tricks,” Leia said with a grin. 

He stood, joining her on the swing, looking out at the Organa land in the winter mid-afternoon mist. He felt one of her arthritic hands take his, and he squeezed it back, warming it. 


	7. Misael and Eli and Malik

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated T  
> CW: Referenced Misael's past abuse, but not discussed.
> 
> This takes place after Misael and Angelina have moved from foster care with Finn and Poe to foster care with Caleb and Malik. Between New Additions and Valentine's Tradition
> 
> Year 32: (Amelia/34, Eli/36, Caleb and Malik/28, Meghan/43, Chris/50, Finn/56, Poe/65, Riya/5, Alex/4, Michael and Violet/9, Misael/15, Angelina, 9)

**Eli:** We still on for tonight? The guys understand if you want to skip a week hosting. 

Malik tapped his fingers against the side of his phone, glancing up from his desk, making sure no one was cheating on their test. 

**Malik:** Yeah, it’s fine. Normal routines are good for them. 

**Eli:** Oh, is that what we do? Normal? :D

Malik stifled a smile and tucked his phone away. 

\--------

Misael collapsed on his bed and toed his running shoes off. He’d get up and shower in a second, he told himself, but for the moment he just stared up at the white ceiling that didn’t have any water stains or mold growing or cracks. Everything in the room that Misael hadn’t brought with him was brand spanking new, and it gave his bedroom this clinical sort of smell. 

But if living with Malik and Coach was anything like it had been living with Poe and Finn, and Misael didn’t have any reason to doubt that it wouldn’t be, he’d be making a home here soon enough. He was...  _ excited _ to be here, truly. Excited to be living with Coach, excited that Angelina felt safe here, that first Poe and Finn, and now Malik and Coach were able to afford things like drawing supplies for her. Excited that Coach’s sister Meghan - who Angelina tentatively called Aunt Meghan because the Cohen twins did so - was giving Angelina personal art lessons. Excited that even though he was only a sophomore, Malik and Coach were already talking about his college prospects like it was a thing he  _ could _ do, not an impossibility. Life here was… exciting. Hopeful. 

There was a soft knock on his door, Malik calling his name. “Come in,” Misael said, sitting up and scrubbing sweat away from his face. 

“Have a good run?” Malik leaned against the door jamb, smiling, then frowning, then pulling off his glasses and huffing a breath on them to clean them with his shirt. 

Misael watched the whole display with some amusement. Living with Coach was one thing, but living with  _ Mr. Ford, _ the nerdy, introverted math teacher who dropped pop culture references into his lessons just to freak out his students was kind of a weird experience for Misael. 

He also knew, now, that it was Malik who’d first noticed how badly Misael had been doing. Who got Coach to help. Which meant it was because of Malik that he was sitting here, in a warm house, healthy, full, getting therapy, and looking to a future that extended beyond surviving the moment. 

“Yeah, it was good. I found a good park, down on Washburn?” 

“Oh, yeah, I like that place, too. Caleb and I sometimes head down there in the summer to toss the frisbee around, maybe play some soccer with the Cohens.” Malik rubbed his neck. “Um, speaking of… So, every Thursday night, I have a group of friends come over. And, um, Eli is one of those friends. I just wanted to give you a heads up, in case that brought up, um, bad feelings for you. We’ll be in the kitchen, if you want to avoid us.” 

Misael’s cheeks heated and he looked away. It wasn’t that Dr. Cohen was a trigger or anything, but he did kind of remind Misael of being scared, and cold in his hospital gown, as medical personnel took samples and pictures and made him feel completely exposed. 

“And we can move it, too, if you need us to. You live here now, and your comfort is paramount to me,” Malik said quietly. 

Misael rubbed sweaty hands over his shorts and shook his head. “It’s okay. If I- I appreciate the heads up.” He stood, grabbing his towel from the hook on the wall. “Are the other friends hospital friends too?” He assumed it was a poker night or some other type of gambling, thinking of his former landlord and the rowdy nights he and his friends had.

Malik angled away to let him through the door. “No. Let’s see, um, Piedad works in insurance, um, Brett, you might have met at the farm? He’s part of the veteran program. And Micah works at the middle school.” 

Brett was nice, Misael remembered. So, okay. Not a bunch of people that possibly knew Misael’s abuse backstory. And at least three of the people he knew weren’t rowdy jerks. Good. “It’ll be okay, Malik.”

Malik searched his eyes - he still wasn’t really used to people caring so much about his feelings like this - and nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, it will.” 

 

After dinner, Coach helped Angelina with her reading homework in the living room while Misael worked on his math with Malik. He still had a lot of catching up to do, and he’d failed first semester, which meant he’d be in credit recovery over the summer for it, but it helped when your foster dad was also your math teacher. 

At the ding of the doorbell, Malik jumped up, excitement on his face. “You can always come in if you need something from me or the kitchen, okay? Kitchen’s not off limits on Thursdays or anything.” 

Coach was looking at Malik with that open love and adoration that Misael had noticed quite frequently. He pulled Malik down for a quick kiss, murmuring, “Have fun, nerd,” lovingly to him. 

Misael looked back down at his math, but curiosity got the better of him as the string of Malik’s friends came by the living room to get to the kitchen. There was Brett, taking off his cowboy hat and nodding at Misael and Angelina. Micah came next, or so Misael guessed, chattering excitedly with Eli about...something Misael didn’t understand. Malik came through last, linking arms with a short woman who was wearing-- wearing a  _ cloak.  _ And a... _ wizard’s hat? _

“What kind of poker game is this?” Misael said aloud, then coughed into his hand, embarrassed. 

Coach looked up from Angelina’s book and then over his shoulder as Piedad and Malik disappeared from view, then laughed. And laughed. And laughed a little more. “Sorry, bud. Just.” He stifled a giggle and wiped a tear away. “I mean, I don’t know why I’m so amused, Malik plays poker, he’s a darned card shark, to be honest. But no, Thursday night isn’t poker night. It’s game night.” 

“Game night?” 

“RPGs. Um. Have you heard of Dungeons and Dragons?” Misael shrugged. “Well, that’s what they’re doing. It can be kind of fun to listen in on, sometimes, if you want to, once you’re done with your homework.” 

“Can I listen in?” Angelina asked innocently. 

“No, miss, because it’s your bedtime in about 10 minutes.” 

It warmed Misael’s heart that Angelina felt safe enough to both negotiate bedtime and pout about not getting her way. 

It just so happened that when he finished his math homework, his water bottle needed refilling, so he walked casually into the kitchen to do so. 

“Is there a tavern in the town?” Eli directed this question at Micah. 

“Yes, the Squat Duck.” 

Then, in a voice entirely not his own, all high pitched and squeaky, Eli turned to Malik and said, “We should go to the tavern and see if anyone there has seen Gaspar.” 

“I think we should check the stockades,” Malik replied in a deep voice with just a hint of, what was that, a Scottish accent?

\--------

Malik wasn’t actually aware when Misael came into the kitchen, not until Brett patted the extra chair beside him and Misael shyly took the seat. He folded his knees up and hugged them, listening to them play attentively. 

After a few minutes, at a break in the conversation, Misael finally spoke up. “So you’re playing characters?” 

“Aye,” Malik said in his Darach voice, smiling. “I’m Darach, son of Padrarch, dwarf of the Ironstone Mountains. Greetings, traveler.”

“I’m Briony,” squeaked Eli, and Misael laughed as Eli’s eyes twinkled.   


“Darien the fighter, “ Brett said, holding out his hand. His voice sounded normal, although with a little more twang. 

“Hildred the Magnificent.” Piedad tipped her hat. 

“One person called you that once,” Eli complained, and she shrugged daintily. 

“And I’m the DM, which means I am the most powerful person here.” Micah grinned and spread his hands as protests erupted around him. 

Joy bubbled up in Malik as Misael got into the groove of things, listening, laughing along with them or making suggestions, asking questions about rules and gameplay. At 10, when people stood, and stretched, and made their way out, Misael lingered in the kitchen, watching Malik clean up. 

“That was fun,” he murmured, handing Malik a plate for the dishwasher. 

“It is.” He eyed Misael speculatively. “Hey, you know, we could roll a character for you. If you wanted to join.” 

“I- really? You wouldn’t mind having a kid hanging out with you guys?”

Malik grinned. “Hell no. We’ve all been playing since we were your age. And I’d love to have another family member join in. I’ve been trying to convince Caleb for  _ years _ but his attention span…” he sighed heavily. 

“I heard that!” Caleb called from the other room. He appeared in the doorway, then walked over to poke Malik in the stomach. “I have the attention span for 1000 page history books, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. And hey, you two, we have school tomorrow, let’s get to bed.”

Malik groaned. He always dragged on Fridays because of game night, but it was the only reliable night they could all get together. “Yeah, alright.” He set the dishwasher to run, and looped his arm around Caleb’s waist. “Think about it, Misael.” 

Misael glanced between the two of them, looking quietly pleased. It was a good look for him, Malik decided. “Don’t need to think about it. When can I join?”

Malik let out a hoot of triumph in Caleb's face and pulled Misael in for a hug - after seeking his consent. “We did it, babe, we found the nerd/jock hybrid we’ve always dreamed of.” 

Squeezing them both hard, Misael shook a little with laughter. When he pulled back, though, his face was shiny with tears. Malik and Caleb pulled him in again, rubbing over his back and whispering soothing words. 

Upstairs, Misael paused at his bedroom door, fingers running over the paint of the door jamb. “Thanks, Malik. Coach.” 

“You’re always welcome,” Caleb murmured. 

“Always,” Malik echoed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually the first pairing I wrote because when Eli and Malik popped up I was like "oh yes, these are my secret D&D nerds!"


	8. Caleb and the Cousins - rated G

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rated G   
> CW: Michael is trans, and he and Caleb talk about it a little bit. 
> 
> Takes place after Family History
> 
> Year 37, July: Caleb and the Cousins (Amelia/39, Eli/41, Caleb and Malik/33, Meghan/47, Chris/54, Finn/61, Poe/71, Riya/10, Alex/10, Michael and Violet/15, Misael/20, Angelina, 14, David/4)

“Okay.” Caleb stood, hands on his hips, running through a quick head count.  _ Angelina, Violet, Michael, Riya, David, Alex.  _ By some miracle, all of the cousins were present and accounted for, and not even arguing, yet. They were also surrounded by a small pack of the various family dogs, rolling around on the ground, getting dirty and having lots of fun already. “Okay,” he said again, mostly to reassure himself.  _ Okay. _

So the thing was, they were on family vacation. Camping. In a place that, horror of horrors, didn’t have cell service. And Caleb, being Caleb, had agreed to take the cousins out for some type of physical activity, and the other adults, being  _ smart, _ had agreed and then quickly hustled off to parts unknown. Even his husband had betrayed him, by getting a vacation cold, and staying in the tent to sneeze and cough and be miserable.  __

If they’d been on the farm, with the various Wexley and Calrissian grandchildren, they could have just had a soccer match and been done with it. But with the  _ slightly _ smaller Smith-Dameron-Suzuki-Cohen-Ford brood, Caleb had to improvise.

“Okay.” 

“Okay!” David yelled back excitedly, clapping his hands. At four, he was by far the youngest of the crew, and probably the one least likely to give Caleb any crap. Except literal crap, because he wasn’t so good at the potty thing yet. 

“Alright, so today, we have one goal.” Using the best of his entertaining teacher capabilities, Caleb spread his hands wide and tried to sell the anticipation. “We are going to hike to the lake, and eat lunch there. But we aren’t allowed to bring any of the food we brought from town with us.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to just eat random stuff?” Violet asked, pushing up her glasses in a way that was so reminiscent of Malik that Caleb had to smile. 

“Well, I bet you guys didn’t know this, but Amelia - Aunt Amelia - Mom - and I did Cub Scouts together for quite a few years. I’ll keep us safe, I promise.” He frowned slightly as Angelina slipped her hand in Violet’s. “Guys, we’re going to be okay. I’m not going to kill us.” 

David, at least, was all for it, like he normally was with any Caleb plan. Man, he had liked adopting older kids, but he missed having younger nieces and nephews. 

The rest of them looked pretty skeptical. 

\---------------

Violet and Angelina had their heads tucked together up ahead, whispering fiercely about something or another. Caleb wasn’t sure what kind of gossip they could be whispering about so fiercely without access to their phones, but he’d also learned never to underestimate teens. Alex, Riya, and David were all signing to each other in the middle. After checking on the rest once again, Caleb turned to Michael, who had fallen into step beside him and  _ seemed _ kind of like maybe he wanted to talk. “What’s up, my buddy?” Well, Caleb had never been good at being subtle.

Michael shrugged. 

“You doing cross-country with me next fall?”

Michael sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not like I’m any good, Uncle Cay.” 

“What? You PR’d at every race last year!” Caleb took a deep breath. “But if you don’t want to, I totally get it. I won’t be disappointed at all.” 

“I PR’d because you literally can’t run any slower than me when I started.” 

“Yeah, but that’s progress, my dude!”

“It’s just going to be worse this year,” Michael grumbled, tugging at his shirt. 

Caleb suddenly realized what was going on. Despite being on T, Michael’s chest had grown over the last year or so. Caleb made a mental note to talk to Amelia and Eli about sports wear that might help Michael feel more comfortable with his body. In the meantime, “No pressure, Michael. None at all. I just want you to be happy. And hey, if you don’t like the competition, but like the running, we could just get together by ourselves? Maybe set up a couple of fall 5k fun runs as our goal? Do a color run or a charity event? There’s that one they do for hospice. No timers, no chips, just having fun knowing you’re doing a good thing.” 

Michael glanced up at him with a smile, then dropped his arms more naturally to his sides. “That sounds good.” 

 

“<Okay, so, you can see the leaves here, and from the way the berries grow, that this one is okay to pick.>” He’d left the older teens at the lake, fishing, to show Riya, Alex, and David how to tell edible food from inedible. They'd all fished for awhile, Caleb wanting to be sure that there was enough for lunch before he left to supplement it with things from the forest. “<These will go great with those blackberries we found.>” 

“<I thought we’d be eating leaves!>” Riya signed, laughing. 

“<Well, I bet we could find some if you  _ really _ wanted, Ree.>” 

Riya burst into giggles, signing “No, no!” over and over again while the boys joined her in protest. 

“<Okay, fine, fine,>” Caleb sighed, mock-aggrieved. “<Let’s take this stuff back to the lake, and eat some lunch. Who’s hungry?>”

“Me! <Me!>”

“Dad!” Angelina’s voice rang through the forest, and Caleb shot to his feet, running toward the shore. 

When he broke through the trees, he was glad to see that everyone was on their feet, conscious, and not visibly bleeding. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Sammy got into the fish, and then Mugsy, um, helped.” Angelina pointed behind her, where Caleb could see the three fish they’d caught and been planning to eat for lunch, half-eaten and strewn across the sand. 

“Ugh.” 

“Unca Cay, I’m hungry.” David tugged on his shorts, eyes already tearing up. Trust the toddler to instinctively know that food was farther away than ever. 

“Okay.”

“Dad?”

“Uncle Caleb.”

“Okay.” He pulled his backpack off and started unzipping it. Always have a back up plan. “Who wants s’mores?”

“And berries!” David added, holding out his basket. 

“S’mores and berries. Lunch of champions.” Caleb tried his winning grin, and by god, it actually worked. 

  
The hike home was a lot faster, the kids all hyped on sugar and the prospect of  _ real food _ back at camp. Caleb wasn’t sure hot dogs counted as real food, but hey, no one had died, there had been minimal tears, and everyone was still talking to each other. He’d take it as a win.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd imagine, if you got all the way here, then you're a fan of the farm. I just want to thank you for that, and all the comments and kudos you have left me over the last two years.


End file.
